CORTLAND, N.Y. - Freshman Jeff LaMont (Hannibal) and junior Dustin Marshall (Newfield) scored 21 and 15 points, respectively, in their Cortland debuts as the Red Dragons won their season opener versus Elmira College, 87-67.

LaMont hit 7-of-13 shots, including 5-of-11 three-pointers. Marshall finished 5-of-9 from the floor, hit all four of his free throws and grabbed seven rebounds.

Senior Paul Oliver (Phoenix) also scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds. He made 5-of-7 shots from the field. Freshman Jeremy Smith (Bronx/Riverdale Kingsbridge) tallied nine points, freshman Jesse Winter (Rockville Centre/South Side) added eight points and senior Mike Lewis (Central Square/Paul V. Moore) led the team with 12 rebounds. Senior Ben Nagle (Rochester/Aquinas Institute), playing one season of basketball after completing his eligibility as a football defensive end last fall, finished with six points, four rebounds and a team-high four assists.

Bobby DiPiazza (Wyckoff, NJ/Bergen Catholic) led Elmira (1-1) with 14 points. Jon Adamson (Little Falls/Herkimer) totaled 12 points and a team-high six rebounds and David Nelson (Bainbridge/Bainbridge-Guilford) scored 11 points. Bryan Mathews (Horseheads) scored eight points and dished out five assists.

Cortland led 45-38 after a first half that featured almost identical shooting percentages for both teams. The Red Dragons shot 47 percent from the floor, 54 percent (7-of-13) from three-point range and 80 percent (8-of-10) from the foul line in the half, compared to 47 percent from the floor, 55 percent (6-of-11) from behind the arc and 80 percent (4-of-5) from the line for Elmira.

The second half was a different story, however, as Cortland hit 54 percent of its shots and finished the game at exactly 50 percent (29-of-58) from the field. Elmira shot 31 percent in the second half and 39 percent (24-of-62) for the game. The Soaring Eagles, who made 15 three-pointers in their season-opening win versus Fredonia, hit only 1-of-12 treys in the second half and finished 7-of-23 (30 percent) for the game.

Elmira led 17-11 eight minutes into the game, but Cortland slowly worked its way back and took the lead for good at 31-28 on a LaMont three-pointer with 5:15 left. LaMont scored 14 points and Marshall scored eight points in the opening half. The guests drew back within 47-44 with 18:25 left in the game on an Adamson layup, but Winter and LaMont answered with treys to extend the lead to nine.

Smith's three-point play with 14:22 remaining gave Cortland a 62-52 lead and started a 12-2 run that helped put the game away. The Red Dragon lead was at least 12 from that point forward.

Box Score/Play-by-Play